PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Transit will replace four aging buses in the coming months.
The Transit authority board authorized the purchase of vehicles Tuesday in the agency’s 2020 capital budget, although the actual cost was not immediately clear.
“It’s part of a state contract that we buy off of, and we were the last ones to be able to be included in that,” said David Sullivan, the Jefferson County commissioner who chairs the county’s Transit authority board.
General Manager Tammi Rubert did not return phone calls Wednesday.
Transit Finance Manager Sara Crouch wrote in the meeting agenda bill that moving forward with the request at this time was “imperative.”
The state contract has about 40 options left to purchase, and Crouch said they are going quickly.
“The issue is, if we do not order from this contract, the new contract is being disputed and will not be in place until after February 2020 at the absolute earliest,” Crouch wrote in the summary statement.
The state contract is for heavy duty mass transit vehicles, according to transit documents.
The capital grant must be spent during the 2019-21 biennium, Crouch wrote.
It can take about 22 months between the order and delivery, she added.
Sullivan said the current state contract is at a better rate.
“This will help us update our fleet and replaces ones that are getting a little long in the tooth,” he said.
Sullivan said the cutaway models will be similar to the buses the agency already uses.
________
Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
